Dependence
by Lzsmith8
Summary: Dependent: Relying on, or subject to, something else for support; not able to exist, or sustain itself, or to perform anything, without the will, power, or aid of something else. They are all dependent of something, whether they knew it or not. UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1

A.N.: It's... alive!! Well, sorta, anyways. The working world hates my guts, and I'm way too burned out to write half the time. But this little ditty comes from reading some of the random dabbles that have been appearing lately. Thanks to those authors! Now, on with a dabble that might keep you people from coming after me for not updating Time Stops!

Disclaimer: I've checked. They don't want to sell out to me. Bah.

/

Dependant

/

He sometimes hated depending on the others.

Not that he didn't trust them, or know that they would all give their lives for him, if necessary, but he just couldn't let himself depend on them, unless he had no other choice. Of course, there was some reasoning behind these thoughts.

He already depended on something else, and he hated the fear buried deep inside himself that one day that something would fail him, and he would be sent, kicking and screaming, into the darkness of defeat.

His stupid leg brace. So much a part of him, he was freakin' _identified_ by it.

"Oh that poor boy. He'll never be able to walk like the rest of us!"

"He's a cripple! He'll just fall behind!"

"Look at that limp! We can't win with him!"

Until he had joined the other descendants, this was how his life went. People would look at him, at his leg, and decide he wasn't good for anything. He sometimes lay awake at night, thanking the stars that he had always forced himself to never give into the misconceptions people had of him.

Now he was the Warrior of the team, the one who was identified by something very different from his disadvantage. His power, his speed, his accuracy, his strength, all which were a part of what made him someone to be _respected,_ not just ignored for his fault.

But there was always a shadow of doubt he carried with him, buried deep under arrogance and pride. Despite his best efforts, and the practice he put himself through almost daily, he still could not even _stand_ without his brace supporting his leg. At times, he hated himself for his weakness.

/

_TBC... (maybe)_


	2. Chapter 2

A.N.: Round 2! I've decided to try for a drabble type thing with the theme word being 'Dependants'. Why? I'm not quite sure. But it's a good way to get Cott ideas out of my head and written down.

/

Captivated

/

He wasn't fully trusted by anyone on the team.

Not that it really bothered him that much, because after all, he had much more _important_ things to do with his time than bother with his so-called friends. Namely, he had to look after himself. If he didn't look perfect, then surely then end of the world was coming.

He was captivated by himself, and it was no secret that he shared almost no love for anything that wasn't himself. If they couldn't understand that, well, they just didn't know him very well. He had to have priorities after all.

Of course, spending all his time locked up in his room, admiring himself but having no other audience, only made the whispers seem that much louder...

"He can't fight his way out of a paper bag!"

"He only cares about himself, he doesn't care about us!"

"Too self-absorbed to notice that his friends need him! What a _jerk_!"

This was the way it always was, even when he joined his new friends in New Atlantis, fighting off some crazed god who wanted to destroy the world.

Of course, now he knew that he had to look out for himself on occasion, and even more rarely, rescue his friends from whatever ugly beast was after them at the time. He would sometimes end up more than a little rumpled before it was over, but it was always worth it to see them look at him with _appreciation, _for once.

His priority remained himself, but he was starting to notice that some of the people around him depended on him, once and a while, and he couldn't help but enjoy the feeling. As the Good-Looking-Charm, he had some advantages over the others that he knew they were beginning to recognize. It was a good feeling to be admired by someone other than himself. But he never, _never_, forgot his mirror while on a mission. A hero had to look good after all.

/

_More to come... (I hope)_


	3. Chapter 3

A.N.: Special thanks to Ranta and her infamous 'Just for a Moment' drabbles series. I got a shout out from her, and now I'm sending one back. Enjoy!

/

Permanence

/

He was always the one they turned to for answers.

Even when it seemed he had none, everyone looked to him to find a solution to the problem at hand, be it a psychotic time-god seeking to destroy the earth, or yet another disagreement within the team, which he was expected to fix.

But when he didn't have the answers they needed, he always was so angry with himself. He was the Leader, he was supposed to come up with the best solution to whichever problem was presented to him.

But he had problems too. He felt a little selfish about his wants sometimes.

He wanted to see his parents again, to spend time in his old hometown, just to be a normal guy one more time. He wanted a friend he could always trust, someone else he could turn to when the troubles and tribulations of the world became to pressing. He tried to find that in his teammates, but he was afraid of them getting hurt by his own demons.

The worst times came after he failed them, and when they started doubting him.

"No way that plan could work! Someone could get hurt if we tried it!"

"What's wrong with him? One shot to his confidence, and his whole world crumbles! Can't he let us help him?"

"We can't do this without him! But it's like he's not even trying anymore!"

But he was trying! He wanted things back the way they were before everything started! He wanted to be normal again, without the whole world resting on his shoulders. He wanted to be able to walk to the store without being attacked by a giant talking spider for crying out loud!

But things were getting better, slowly.

He could look to the stars, and find comfort in their lights. He could seek out his team, his friends, and know they would all give their lives for each other. He could even sometimes glimpse inside himself, and surprise himself with the true strength he found. He could go to the sea, and lose himself in the ever moving waves of the water, which, if he listened hard enough, whispered to him secrets of the world.

He was afraid of the challenges he faced. Of the daily struggle to stay alive and protect the world, his friends, himself. But he could find hope in the world around him, so long as he remembered to look for it.

But he always remained truly afraid of failure, and the consequences that could arise from such.

/

**Important notice: **Because of life, work, moving, and chaos in general, updates regarding 'Dependence' and 'Time Stops' will probably not be coming anytime soon. I apologize, but theres really nothing that can be done for it. For now, 'Time Stops' is on Hiatus until I've gotten my life back together. I will continue to add to 'Dependence' as inspiration comes to be, but I just do not have the confidence to write any more decent chapters to 'Time Stops' at this time. Once again, I apologize to those who were following my story. Your reviews and support meant very much to me, and I thank my cherished readers, all of you.

Again, thank you. I promise to one day finish my tale. Until then, thanks for reading, keep writing, and Vote for Pedro!

Liz

/


	4. Chapter 4

I AM BACK! *cackles* Sorry. It's been a while.

I'm sorry to all my readers! I've been busy with life, stupid choices, and a volunteer program that literally stole nine months of my life. Well. Not literally, but y'all know what I mean.

ANYWAY:

I can't promise I will be updating "Time Stops" right away. It's been over a year and things have changed. But, I will start up these drabbles again, and hopefully be inspired to write longer stuff soon enough.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.

/

Staying Grounded

/

He was the brute strength of the team.

This wasn't an understatement. He literally held the team up sometimes, bodily grabbing one or the other up and getting them to safety. He wasn't fast, not normally, didn't always think things through; sometimes he scared himself a little with his own power.

And though he was built to be a hero, he never really thought of himself as one. He liked farming. Being outdoors and working, indulgently doing whatever task his grandmother set to him. He didn't think about what he and the rest of the group were doing most of the time.

Thus, he sometimes screwed up.

He smashed a rock into some monster, and when it fell to the ground it nearly crushed two of them. He lost his temper and his fist when through a wall. He didn't understand a plan once, and ended up causing them to lose another chance at capturing Cronus once again.

Of course, they were angry with him for it afterwards. Their anger, mistrust and worry echoed...

"If he had followed the plan we could have had him! How could he have screwed up?"

"It wasn't that hard what he had to do! And he nearly killed himself!"

"His temper is going to get someone hurt!"

It scared him, how close he came a few times, to really hurting one of them. Then, they had a slow stretch and he went home for the weekend.

He spent most of his time as close as he could be with his grandmother. And he was reminded of why they were fighting so hard.

When he got back, he started hanging out with them again. When they started plans for their next venture out, he took part, making suggestions that they actually listened to. He worked on his truck, realizing with surprise that some of his best memories of them all were in that truck.

He soon realized it was himself who he needed to learn to trust. He started training more, honing his strength, working to make sure he was in control with it. To make sure he didn't hurt any of them again.

He still worried about making a mistake. It was still a struggle to control his temper sometimes, and to remember to try and follow their plans. He focused on the face of his grandmother sometimes. It helped.

He didn't want to hurt anyone. He was scared that someday he would.

/

_More to come!_


End file.
